When I mention that I’ve traveled to Costa Rica, the question that people tend to ask me is if I’ve ever visited Manuel Antonio National Park. It’s as if it’s a traveler’s requisite. On the edge of the town of Quepos, this is the best place to see the most diverse wildlife that Costa Rica has to offer. Besides having probably, the most knowledgeable guides in the country, this park also has toucans, snakes, black iguanas, two species of bats, two species of sloths and three species of monkeys, including the endangered squirrel monkey. I was fortunate enough to see them all, except for snakes (they don’t tolerate tourists very well). The tour guides walk around with large telescopes over their shoulders peering up into the trees. Every so often, they’ll suddenly stop, set up the telescope and tell the tourists to look through them where we’ll see monkeys, iguanas and sloths that we certainly would not have seen otherwise. They are experts at spotting camouflaged critters. After the tour, I was able to relax in a shady cove separated from the rest of the beach crowds and soak up sun until closing time. A trip to a national park is not usually on my to do list when I travel, but this one makes me rethink that ideology.
